Systems and methods for generating interfaces based on user proficiency

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of systems and methods for generating user interfaces are described. In an embodiment, a monitoring tool can observe the user&#39;s interaction with a computing device, collect input and output operation data, and calculate a user effectiveness score based on the collected data. A user interface can be generated based on the user effectiveness score to match the user&#39;s proficiency.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates to the assessment of computer user proficiency,and more specifically, to systems and methods for generating userinterfaces reflective of the observed proficiency.

BACKGROUND

The use of personal computing devices, including smartphones, tablets,desktop computers, and laptop computers, is widespread. Almost allconsumers use a computing device for business, educational,entertainment, or other purposes, often for a combination of purposes ona daily basis.

The use of personal computing devices is driven in part by theproliferation of personal computing devices, and as these devices becomemore prevalent, consumers frequently carry one or more of them at alltimes. The ready availability of these devices creates demand for accessto services, such as account management, bill payment, gaming, and videostreaming, and online shopping and other services, at home, outside thehome, and on mobile devices. Consumers today can interact with personalcomputing devices on a variety of screen types and sizes, using avariety of input tools.

As the use of personal computing devices, and the uses for thesedevices, continues to expand, accessibility also grows in importance. Inorder to utilize personal computing devices for any purposes, consumersmust be able to engage with those devices. Consumers that are unable todo so may miss out on a myriad of personal and professionalopportunities.

Accordingly, there is a need to make personal computing devicesaccessible to consumers and promote consumer engagement with personalcomputing devices in an efficient and effective manner.

SUMMARY

Therefore it is an object of this disclosure to describe systems andmethods that generate interfaces that match a user's skill level.Various embodiments describe systems and methods that monitor useractivity to determine proficiency and to generate user interfaces inaccordance with the measured proficiency.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system for displaying auser interface, comprising: a server hosting a webpage, the webpagehaving a user interface; a user database storing a user effectivenessindex for a user; a client device containing a display and a processor,the client device configured to present a user interface on the displayand to receive input from a user through one or more input devices, andthe processor configured to execute a monitoring program; wherein, uponexecution, the monitoring program configured to: track the operation ofeach of the one or more input devices and capture input operation datafor each input device, the input operation data for each input devicehaving one or more of a positive effect and a negative effect, calculatea user effectiveness index based on the one or more positive effect andnegative effect, and transmit the user effectiveness index to theserver; and wherein, upon receipt of the user effectiveness index, theserver is configured to: store the user effectiveness index in theprofile for the user in the user database, and adapt the user interfaceof the webpage in response to the user effectiveness index.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for displaying auser interface, comprising: tracking the operation of one or more inputdevices to collect input operation data as the input devices interactwith the user interface, the input devices operated by a user andoperably connected to a client device; calculating a user effectivenessindex for the user, the user effectiveness index calculated by thesummation of one or more positive effects from the input operation datafor each input device and one or more negative effects from the inputoperation data for each input device; transmitting the usereffectiveness index to a server; and taking an effectiveness action toadapt the user interface in response to the user effectiveness index,wherein the effectiveness action includes at least one of increasing thespacing around one or more elements of the user interface, increasingthe size of one or more fonts displayed on the user interface, andremoving one or more elements of the user interface from the user'sview.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an application fordisplaying a user interface, the application configured to: display auser interface on a client device; monitor the use of one or more inputdevices on a client device and capture input operation data relating tothe user of each input device; analyze the input operation data toidentify positive effects and negative effects and assign a numericalvalue to each identified positive and negative effect; calculate a usereffectiveness index by the summation of values for positive effects andnegative effects; and adapting an element of the user interface based onthe user effectiveness index, wherein: the element includes at least oneof a window, a button, an icon, a menu, a tab, a scroll bar, a zoomtool, a dialog box, a check box, and a radio button, and the adaptingincludes at least one of adding or removing an element from the userinterface, increasing or decreasing the size of an element, increasingor decreasing the size of a font displayed in the element, andincreasing or decreasing a time period for the completion of an actioninvolving the element.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an interface generation system according to anexample embodiment.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a client device according to an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart for a method of calculating a usereffectiveness score according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart for a method of generating a userinterface according to an example embodiment.

FIGS. 5A-5D illustrate a series of application user interfaces accordingto example embodiments.

FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate a series of web browser user interfaces accordingto example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Computing device users have a range of proficiencies, ranging fromskilled users to novice users. User proficiency can be caused by avariety of factors, including without limitation computing experience,familiarity with technology, accessibility needs, physical limitations(e.g., limited vision or imprecise motor skills), and cognitivelimitations. One aspect of the present disclosure is to provide systemsand methods to determine user proficiency and provide user interfacesappropriate for a user's proficiency. By doing so, embodiments of thepresent disclosure can support the user's access and effectiveutilization of the interface.

FIG. 1 illustrates an interface generation system 100 according to anexample embodiment. In this embodiment, the system includes a pluralityof client devices 101, 102, 103, 104, a server 110, and a user profiledatabase 120. As shown in FIG. 1, client device 101 may be a smartphone,client device 102 may be a laptop, client device 103 may be a desktopcomputer, and client device 104 may be a tablet computer. Client devices101-104 are not limited to these examples, and may be any combination ofsmartphones, laptop computers, desktop computers, tablet computers,personal digital assistants, thin clients, fat clients, Internetbrowsers, or customized software applications. It is further understoodthat the client devices may be of any type of device that supports thecommunication and display of data and user input. While the exampleembodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 shows client devices 101-104, thepresent disclosure is not limited to a specific number of clientdevices, and it is understood that the system 100 may include a singleclient device or multiple client devices.

The server 110 can be a dedicated server computer, such as bladedservers, or may be personal computers, laptop computers, notebookcomputers, palm top computers, network computers, mobile devices, or anyprocessor-controlled device capable of supporting the system 100. WhileFIG. 1 illustrates a single server 110, it is understood that otherembodiments may use multiple servers or multiple computer systems asnecessary or desired to support the users and may also use back-up orredundant servers to prevent network downtime in the event of a failureof a particular server.

The server 110 can contain a user account database 120. The user accountdatabase 120 can be a relational or non-relational database, or acombination of more than one database. In an embodiment, the useraccount database 120 can be stored by server 110, alternatively the useraccount database 120 can be stored remotely, such as in another server,on a cloud-based platform, or in any storage device that is in datacommunication with server 110. In an embodiment, the user accountdatabase can store account information for accounts associated withusers (e.g., transaction history, available services, and availablecontent).

In an embodiment, the user account database 120 can further include auser profile for each user associated with an account. The user profilecan include identification for a user (e.g., full name, logincredentials required for accessing restricted information or restrictedinterfaces) and contact information (e.g., mailing address, telephonenumber, email address). The user profile can further include a usereffectiveness index. The user effectiveness index can be a numericalvalue, and can indicate the proficiency with which a user can interactwith a computing device. For example, the user effectiveness index canrange from 0.0 for a low proficiency user to 1.0 for a high proficiencyuser. This range is only exemplary, and it is understood thatembodiments of the present disclosure provide for a range of anynumerical values.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a client device 200 according to an exampleembodiment. Client device 200 is depicted as a laptop computer in FIGS.2A and 2B, but it is understood that client device 200 can be any of theclient devices described above with reference to FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2A, client device 200 can include a display 205 anddevice inputs 210. The display 205 can be any type of device forpresenting visual information such as a computer monitor, a flat paneldisplay, and a mobile device screen, including liquid crystal displays,light-emitting diode displays, plasma panels, and cathode ray tubedisplays.

The device inputs 210 can include any device for entering informationinto the client devices that is supported by the client device 200,including without limitation one or more of a keyboard 211, a mouse 212,a touch screen 213, a stylus 214, a joystick 215, a trackball 216, adial 217, and an eye gaze tracker 218. In addition, while notillustrated in FIG. 2 A, the device inputs can further include, withoutlimitation, one or more of a joypad, a pointing stick, a touch pad, athree-dimensional mouse, a light pen, a dial, a knob, a gesturerecognition input device, a sip-and-puff input device, a microphone, adigital camera, a video recorder, and a camcorder. These devices may beused to enter information and interact with the client device 200 and byextension with the systems described herein.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the client device 200 can include device components220 and a communication interface 225. The device components 220 caninclude a microprocessor 221. The microprocessor 221 can include aprocessor and associated processing circuitry, and can containadditional components, including processors, memories, error andparity/CRC checkers, data encoders, anticollision algorithms,controllers, command decoders, security primitives and tamperproofinghardware, as necessary to perform the functions described herein.

The memory 222 can be a read-only memory, write-once read-multiplememory or read/write memory, e.g., RAM, ROM and EEPROM, and the clientdevice 200 can include one or more of these memories. A read-only memorymay be factory programmable as read-only or one-time programmable.One-time programmability provides the opportunity to write once thenread many times. A write once/read-multiple memory may be programmed ata point in time after the memory chip has left the factory. Once thememory is programmed, it may not be rewritten, but it may be read manytimes. A read/write memory may be programmed and re-programed many timesafter leaving the factory. It may also be read many times.

The communication interface 225 can include wired or wireless datacommunication capability. These capabilities may support datacommunication with a wired or wireless communication network, includingthe Internet, a cellular network, a wide area network, a local areanetwork, a wireless personal area network, a wide body area network, anyother wired or wireless network for transmitting and receiving a datasignal, or any combination thereof. This network may include, withoutlimitation, telephone lines, fiber optics, IEEE Ethernet 902.3, a widearea network, a local area network, a wireless personal area network, awide body area network or a global network such as the Internet. Theclient device 200 can also support a short-range wireless communicationinterface, such as near field communication, radio-frequencyidentification, and Bluetooth, through communication interface 225,along with radio transmissions.

In an embodiment, a monitoring tool can be utilized to track the user'sinteraction with the client device 200. In an embodiment, the monitoringtool can be stored in the memory 220 and executed by the processor 221.Alternatively, the monitoring tool can be stored remotely, such as bythe server 110. It is understood that the monitoring tool can be storedon, or read from, other types of computer program products orcomputer-readable media, such as secondary storage devices, includinghard disks, floppy disks, CD-ROM, or other forms of RAM or ROM. Thecomputer-readable media may include instructions for controlling thesystems and for performing the methods described herein. For example,the monitoring tool can be a script executed in connection with awebpage or application installed on a client device, a separatelyexecutable file installed on the client device, or other form ofapplication.

In an embodiment, the monitoring tool can detect the user's interactionwith the client device 200. The monitoring tool can track the use of oneor more of the device inputs 210, and can observe the user's frequencyand manner of usage, and collect this information as input device data.Exemplary tracked usage characteristics can include, without limitation,input device movement, movement speed, click accuracy, typing speed,typing accuracy, selection accuracy, navigation path, scrolling, andzooming. This collected data can be referred to as input operation data.The monitoring tool can assess the input operation data and assignpositive or negative effects of differing magnitudes to actions taken bythe users.

For example, the monitoring tool can identify instances of directmovement, rapid movement, a successful button click, a successful buttonclick on the first attempt, rapid typing, a successful selection on thefirst attempt, a direct navigation path, instances where keyboardshortcuts are used, absence of instances where the backspace key ispressed, absence of instances where the delete key is pressed, andabsence of instances where the back button is clicked. In an embodiment,instances of these actions can be classified as positive effects, whichcan be indicative of a more proficient user.

In an embodiment, one or more scrolling actions can be classified aspositive effects. For example, a successful scroll up or scroll downaction, e.g., scrolling up or down to display additional information,scrolling up or down to display additional information withoutbacktracking, scrolling up or down to display additional informationwithout attempting to scroll past the top or bottom of the display, andsmoothly scrolling up or down, can be indicative of a more proficientuser.

In an embodiment, one or more zooming actions can be classified aspositive effects. For example, a successful zoom in or zoom out, e.g.,zooming in or out within the limits set on the display, zooming in orout without attempting to bypass the maximum or minimum zoom set for thepage, zooming in or out without backtracking, and smoothly zooming in orout, can be indicative of a more proficient user.

As another example, the monitoring tool can identify instances ofindirect movement, slow movement, an unsuccessful button click, anunsuccessful button click on the first attempt, slow typing, anunsuccessful selection on the first attempt, an indirect navigationpath, absence of instances where keyboard shortcuts are used, instanceswhere the backspace key is pressed, and instances where the delete keyis pressed. In an embodiment, instances of these actions can beclassified as negative effects, which can be indicative of a lessproficient user.

In an embodiment, one or more scrolling actions can be classified asnegative effects. For example, a unsuccessful scroll up or scroll downaction, e.g., scrolling up or down to when there is not additionalinformation to display, scrolling up or down to display additionalinformation and backtracking, scrolling up or down to display additionalinformation and attempting to scroll past the top or bottom of thedisplay, and scrolling up or down in an unsmooth motion, can beindicative of a less proficient user.

In an embodiment, one or more zooming actions can be classified asnegative effects. For example, an unsuccessful zoom in or zoom out,e.g., zooming in or out outside of the limits set on the display,zooming in or out and attempting to bypass the maximum or minimum zoomset for the page, zooming in or out and then backtracking, and zoomingin or out in an unsmooth manner, can be indicative of a less proficientuser.

In an embodiment, the monitoring tool can detect information relating tothe user's interaction with the display of information on the clientdevice. For example, this information can include, without limitation,the size of the display on the client device, the resolution used on thedisplay, and the font size used. This collected data can be referred toas output operation data. As with the input operation data, themonitoring tool can assess the output operation data and assign positiveor negative effects of differing magnitudes to actions taken by theusers.

For example, the monitoring tool can identify instances of a smalldisplay size, a high display resolution, and a small font size. In anembodiment, instances of these output operation data can be classifiedas positive effects, which can be indicative of a more proficient user.

For example, the monitoring tool can identify instances of a largedisplay size, a low display resolution, and a large font size. In anembodiment, instances of these output operation data can be classifiedas negative effects, which can be indicative of a less proficient user.

In an embodiment, the monitoring tool can assign a value to eachidentified instance of positive and negative effects in the inputoperation data and the output operation data. The assigned values canvary by the type of effect identified, and as well as by the frequencyand magnitude of the effect. For example, the positive effects can beassigned a positive value, and the negative effects can be assigned asnegative value. The monitoring tool can calculation a user effectivenessscore through the summation of values assigned to all identifiedpositive and negative effects, or to a subset of identified effects. Inan embodiment, the assigned values and the user effectiveness score, canbe normalized.

Tables 1 to 4 below provides exemplary effect identifications and usereffectiveness scores. For example, Table 1 demonstrates the calculationof a user effectiveness score of within a range of 0.0 to 1.0. As shownbelow, this calculation identifies a plurality of positive effects andresults in a user effectiveness score of 0.9, indicating a highlyproficient user.

TABLE 1 Identified Effect Assigned Value Direct mouse movement 0.1Successful button click 0.05 Successful first attempt button click 0.1Keyboard shortcut 0.2 Absence of backspace key 0.1 Direct mouse movement0.1 Successful button click 0.05 Successful first attempt button click0.1 High display resolution 0.1 User effectiveness score 0.9

As another example, Table 2 demonstrates the calculation of a usereffectiveness score of within a range of 0.0 to 1.0. As shown below,this calculation identifies a plurality of positive effects and resultsin a user effectiveness score of 0.6, indicating a significantlyproficient user.

TABLE 2 Identified Effect Assigned Value Direct mouse movement 0.1Successful button click 0.05 Unsuccessful first attempt button click−0.1 Use of backspace key −0.1 Keyboard shortcut 0.2 Absence of deletekey 0.1 Direct mouse movement 0.1 Successful button click 0.05Successful first attempt button click 0.1 Indirect navigation path −0.1High display resolution 0.1 Large display size 0.1 User effectivenessscore 0.6

As another example, Table 3 demonstrates the calculation of a usereffectiveness score of within a range of 0.0 to 1.0. As shown below,this calculation identifies a plurality of positive effects and resultsin a user effectiveness score of 0.4, indicating a moderately proficientuser.

TABLE 3 Identified Effect Assigned Value Direct mouse movement 0.1Successful button click 0.05 Unsuccessful first attempt button click−0.1 Use of backspace key −0.1 Absence of delete key 0.1 Direct mousemovement 0.1 Successful button click 0.05 Successful first attemptbutton click 0.1 Direct navigation path 0.1 Keyboard shortcut 0.2 Lowdisplay resolution −0.1 Small display size −0.1 User effectiveness score0.4

As another example, Table 4 demonstrates the calculation of a usereffectiveness score of within a range of 0.0 to 1.0. As shown below,this calculation identifies a plurality of positive effects and resultsin a user effectiveness score of 0.1, indicating a low proficiency user.

TABLE 4 Identified Effect Assigned Value Indirect mouse movement −0.1Direct mouse movement 0.1 Successful button click 0.05 Unsuccessfulfirst attempt button click −0.1 Use of backspace key −0.1 Direct mousemovement 0.1 Successful button click 0.05 Successful first attemptbutton click 0.1 Direct navigation path 0.1 Absence of delete key 0.1Low display resolution −0.1 Small display size −0.1 User effectivenessscore 0.1

It is understood that the identifications of positive and negativeeffects, the values assigned to those effects, the relative valuesassigned to those effects, and the user effectiveness score shown inTables 1 to 4 are exemplary. Embodiments of the present disclosure caninclude any combination of positive and negative effects, anycombination of frequency and magnitude, any value assignment, and anyuser effectiveness scores.

In an embodiment, the input operation data and output operation data canbe stored locally in the memory of the client device, or at an externallocation. The monitoring tool can be configured to collect operationdata up to a predetermined limit or can perform a continuous collectionon a rolling basis up so as to maintain a buffer of the most recentoperation data.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method of calculating a user effectiveness scoreaccording to an example embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the method 300commences in step 305 and step 310 with the retrieval of input operationdata and output operation data. Once this data is retrieved, themonitoring tool can review the data to identify instances of positiveand negative effects. More specifically, in step 315, the monitoringtool can identify instances of positive effects, and in step 320, themonitoring tool can assign values to each positive effect. Similarly, instep 325, the monitoring tool can identify instances of negativeeffects, and in step 330, the monitoring tool can assign values to eachnegative effect.

Once the positive and negative effects are identified and assignedvalues, the method can proceed to step 335 where the monitoring tool canadd the values of all positive effects and all negative effects. Thevalue of this summation can be the user effectiveness score. In anembodiment, the values assigned to all positive and negative effects canbe normalized, or the summation value can be normalized, as appropriateto fit the user effectiveness score into an expected range.

In an embodiment, the steps of method 300 can be performed continuously,e.g., positive and negative effects can be identified and assignedvalues at the same time. Alternatively, the steps of method 300 can beperformed discretely, e.g., in the sequential order illustrated in FIG.3.

In an embodiment, the monitoring tool can calculate a user effectivenessscore once sufficient input and output operation data is collected, andthe monitoring tool can continuously updated the user effectivenessscore as additional input and output operation data is collected.Alternatively, the monitoring tool can calculate a user effectivenessscore once sufficient input and output data has been collected and thencease further data collection and user effectiveness score calculation.In either case, once calculated, the user effectiveness score can beused as a gauge to assess the proficiency of the user and to generate auser interface in accordance with the user's proficiency.

In an embodiment, the user effectiveness score can be stored in a userprofile, a user information database, an account information database,or other collection of user information. The collected input and outputoperation data can also be stored in this manner, however, in anembodiment the collected operation data can be deleted and only the usereffectiveness score can be retained, in order to protect user privacy.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method of generating a user interface according toan example embodiment. The method 400 can commence with step 405, wherethe monitoring tool can collect input operation data and outputoperation data. The operation data collection process can continueindefinitely, can continue indefinitely while maintaining a fixed-sizedata buffer on a rolling basis, or can halt upon collection ofsufficient operation data to calculate a user effectiveness score. Inany case, following operation data collection, the method 400 canproceed to step 410 where the monitoring tool can calculate the usereffectiveness score. This calculation can be performed as illustrated inFIG. 3.

Upon completion of step 410, the method 400 can advance to step 415where the user effectiveness score can be utilized to assess theproficiency of the user. This assessment can invoke ranges within theuniverse of user effectiveness scores (e.g., thirds or quartiles), setthresholds for user effectiveness scores, or employ other means ofcategorizing a given score. In the examples presented in Tables 1 to 4,a user effectiveness score range of 0.0 to 1.0 was provided, a 0.9 scoreplaced in the top 10% and indicated a highly proficiency user, a 0.6score placed within the top 50% and indicated a significantly proficientuser, a 0.4 score placed in the lower 50% and indicated a moderatelyproficient user, and a 0.1 score placed in the bottom 10% and indicateda low proficiency user.

Depending upon the assessment performed in step 415, the method 400 canproceed to any of steps 420, 425, 430, or 435 for the generation of theuser interface. If the monitoring tool determines the user effectivenessscore indicates that the user has a low proficiency during step 415, themethod 400 can proceed to step 420 where a low proficiency userinterface can be generated. If the monitoring tool determines the usereffectiveness score indicates that the user has moderate proficiencyduring step 415, the method 400 can proceed to step 425 where a moderateproficiency user interface can be generated. If the monitoring tooldetermines the user effectiveness score indicates that the user hassignificant proficiency during step 415, the method 400 can proceed tostep 430 where a significant proficiency user interface can begenerated. If the monitoring tool determines the user effectivenessscore indicates that the user has a high proficiency during step 415,the method 400 can proceed to step 435 where a high proficiency userinterface can be generated.

In an embodiment, the generation of the user interface can be performedby the monitoring tool, or by the server, the user's client device orapplication, or other program, such that the appropriate interface isdelivered for display on the user's client device. It is understood thatwhile some embodiments discussed herein can be implemented in certainways (e.g., a server adjusting cascading style sheets), the presentdisclosure is not limited to a specific implementation for generation ordelivery of user interfaces.

A user interface can be generated or adjusted for users of varyingproficiencies based on a user effectiveness score through a variety ofeffectiveness actions. Exemplary effectiveness actions include, withoutlimitation, increasing or decreasing the cell padding, element spacing(e.g., the spacing between widgets, windows, buttons, icons, menus,tabs, scroll bars, zooming tools, dialog boxes, check boxes, radiobuttons, text or other displayed information or graphical elements), andfont size, changing formatting (e.g., bolding, underlining, anditalicizing text, highlighting text or interface elements), and addingor hiding elements from the user's view. Elements present on the userinterface can also be simplified (e.g., by reducing the informationdisplayed, the options presented, or distributing the same over a seriesof interfaces) or made more complex (by increasing the amount ofinformation and options presented and reducing the number of interfacesrequired to complete a task). As another example, elements of a userinterface can be rearranged to increase or decrease spacing and toadjust navigation path complexity.

FIGS. 5A to 5D illustrate a series of application user interfacesgenerated for varying user effectiveness scores according to exampleembodiments. The application user interface 500 shown in these figuresmay be displayed on a smartphone, tablet computer, laptop computer,desktop computer, or any other client device where a credit managementapplication has been installed or can be deployed. In an embodiment, theapplication user interface 500 may be adapted to a mobile client device,including a smart phone and a tablet computer. In another embodiment,the application user interface 500 may be adapted to a client devicewith more system resources, including a laptop computer or desktopcomputer.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the application user interface 500 can display ahigh proficiency user interface 510 for a financial account. Thisinterface can include a plurality of elements and display a broad rangeof information. These elements can be presented with compact spacing,small font sizes, and multiple widgets and interaction options. Forexample, information regarding current account balances can be presentedalongside payment options. A transaction history can be shown, and theuser can be presented options for viewing additional transactions ordisputing a transaction. A series of other choices, including bill pay,account management options, a help resource, and a logout button, canalso be presented. In an embodiment, the high proficiency user interface510 can be presented to a user having a user effectiveness score thatindicates a high level of proficiency.

FIG. 5B shows an application user interface 500 that can display asignificant proficiency user interface 520 for a financial account. Thisinterface can be presented to a user having a user effectiveness scorethat indicates a significant level of proficiency. In contrast to thehigh proficiency user interface 510, the significant proficiency userinterface 520 can display fewer elements and less information, withlarger font sizes and increased spacing between elements. Elements andinformation not displayed can be made available on other interfaces.

FIG. 5C shows an application interface 500 that can display a moderateproficiency user interface 530 for a financial account. This interfacecan be presented to a user having a user effectiveness score thatindicates a moderate level of proficiency. The moderate proficiency userinterface 530 can further reduce the elements and information displayed,increase spacing and font sizes, can display fewer elements and lessinformation, and can use larger font sizes and increased spacing betweenelements. Elements and information not displayed can be made availableon other interfaces.

FIG. 5D shows an application interface 500 that can display a lowproficiency user interface 540 for a financial account. This interfacecan be presented to a user having a user effectiveness score thatindicates a low level of proficiency. As shown in FIG. 5D, the lowproficiency user interface 540 can present a small amount of informationusing large font sizes. The interface can present the user with severaloptions in the form of large buttons, each of which can lead the user toother interfaces focused on a particular task.

FIGS. 6A to 6D illustrate a series of web browser user interfacesgenerated for varying user effectiveness scores according to exampleembodiments. The web browser user interface 600 shown in these figuresmay be displayed on a smartphone, tablet computer, laptop computer,desktop computer, or any other client device where a web browser hasbeen installed. In an embodiment, the web browser user interface 600 maybe adapted to a mobile client device, including a smart phone and atablet computer. In another embodiment, the web browser user interface600 may be adapted to a client device with more system resources,including a laptop computer or desktop computer.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the web browser user interface 600 can display ahigh proficiency user interface 610 for a financial account. Thisinterface can include a plurality of elements and display a broad rangeof information. These elements can be presented with compact spacing,small font sizes, and multiple widgets and interaction options. Forexample, information regarding current account balances can be presentedalongside payment options, and an analytical tool for assessing pastexpenditures and projecting future spending can be presented. Further, atransaction history can be shown, and the user can be presented optionsfor viewing additional transactions or disputing a transaction. A seriesof other choices, including automatic payments, account managementoptions, a help resource, and a logout button, can also be presented. Inan embodiment, the high proficiency user interface 610 can be presentedto a user having a user effectiveness score that indicates a high levelof proficiency.

FIG. 6B shows a web browser user interface 600 that can display asignificant proficiency user interface 620 for a financial account. Thisinterface can be presented to a user having a user effectiveness scorethat indicates a significant level of proficiency. The significantproficiency user interface 620 can display fewer elements and lessinformation, with larger font sizes and increased spacing betweenelements, when compared to the high proficiency user interface 610.Elements and information not displayed can be made available on otherinterfaces.

FIG. 6C shows a web browser user interface 600 that can display amoderate proficiency user interface 630 for a financial account. Thisinterface can be presented to a user having a user effectiveness scorethat indicates a moderate level of proficiency. The moderate proficiencyuser interface 630 can further reduce the elements and informationdisplayed, increase spacing and font sizes, can display fewer elementsand less information, and can use larger font sizes and increasedspacing between elements. Elements and information not displayed can bemade available on other interfaces.

FIG. 6D shows an application interface 600 that can display a lowproficiency user interface 640 for a financial account. This interfacecan be presented to a user having a user effectiveness score thatindicates a low level of proficiency. As shown in FIG. 6D, the lowproficiency user interface 640 can present a small amount of informationusing large font sizes. The interface can present the user with severaloptions in the form of large buttons, each of which can lead the user toother interfaces focused on a particular task.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to a certain typeof user interface, or user interfaces for a certain type of account orservice. It is understood that the present disclosure includes, withoutlimitation, user interfaces or applications used for financial purposes(e.g., savings, checking, credit card, debit card, mortgage, loan,brokerage, retirement, cryptocurrency accounts), services (e.g.,utilities and home security accounts), entertainment (e.g., news,sports, video streaming, and gaming), hosting content (e.g., databackups, music and video content, and digital archives), and others.

Further, it is understood that, while certain exemplary embodimentsillustrate four categories of user proficiency (high, significant,moderate, and low), the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Auser effectiveness score can be interpreted in a variety of ways,including without limitation using thresholds, a sliding scale,categories, or a combination thereof.

As described herein, the ability of users to engage with and effectivelyinteract with a user interfaces is critical for both businesses andconsumers. Failure to provide users with appropriate interfaces can havea significant negative impact on a consumer's quality of life and on theoperation and success of a business. Embodiments of the presentdisclosure provide systems and methods for generating user interfacesthat reduce negative impacts, and improve user access, efficiency, andengagement with software applications.

The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particularembodiments described in this application, which are intended asillustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations canbe made without departing from its spirit and scope, as may be apparent.Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of thedisclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, may be apparent fromthe foregoing representative descriptions. Such modifications andvariations are intended to fall within the scope of the appendedrepresentative claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only bythe terms of the appended representative claims, along with the fullscope of equivalents to which such representative claims are entitled.It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for thepurpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intendedto be limiting.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for displaying a user interface,comprising: a server hosting a webpage, the webpage having the userinterface; a user database storing a user effectiveness index for auser; a monitoring program comprising instructions for execution on aclient device containing a display, a processor, and one or more inputdevices; wherein, upon execution, the monitoring program is configuredto: track the operation of each of the one or more input devices andcapture input operation data for each input device, the input operationdata having one or more selected from the group of at least one inputpositive effect and at least one input negative effect, track theoperation of the display to capture output operation data of thedisplay, wherein the output operation includes at least one selectedfrom the group of display size, display resolution, and font size, andthe output operation data having one or more selected from the group ofat least one output positive effect and at least one output negativeeffect, wherein an output positive effect includes at least one selectedfrom the group of a small display size, a high display resolution, and asmall font size and an output negative effect includes at least oneselected from the group of a large display size, a low displayresolution, and a large font size; calculate a user effectiveness indexbased on one or more selected from the group of the at least one inputpositive effect, the at least one input negative effect, the at leastone output positive effect, and the at least one output negative effect,wherein the monitoring program increments the user effectiveness indexbased on each input positive effect and each output positive effect anddecrements the user effectiveness index based on each input negativeeffect and each output negative effect, and transmit the usereffectiveness index to the server; and wherein, upon receipt of the usereffectiveness index, the server is configured to: store the usereffectiveness index in the profile for the user in the user database,and adapt the user interface of the webpage in response to the usereffectiveness index.
 2. The system for displaying a user interface ofclaim 1, wherein: the one or more input devices include at least oneselected from the group of a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a touchscreen, a joystick, a joypad, a pointing stick, a touch pad, athree-dimensional mouse, a light pen, a stylus, a dial, a knob, an eyegaze tracker, a gesture recognition input device, and a sip-and-puffinput device; and the input operation data includes at least oneselected from the group of movement, movement speed, click accuracy,typing speed, typing accuracy, selection accuracy, navigation path,scrolling actions, and zooming actions.
 3. The system of displaying auser interface of claim 2, wherein the at least one input positiveeffect includes at least one selected from the group of direct movement,rapid movement, a successful button click, a successful button click ona first attempt, rapid typing, a successful selection on a firstattempt, a direct navigation path, a successful scroll action, asuccessful zoom action, instances where keyboard shortcuts are used,absence of instances where a backspace key is pressed, absence ofinstances where a delete key is pressed, and absence of instances wherea back button is clicked.
 4. The system of displaying a user interfaceof claim 2, wherein the at least one input negative effect includes atleast one selected from the group of indirect movement, slow movement,an unsuccessful button click, an unsuccessful button click on a firstattempt, slow typing, an unsuccessful selection on a first attempt, anindirect navigation path, an unsuccessful scroll action, an unsuccessfulzoom action, absence of instances where keyboard shortcuts are used,instances where a backspace key is pressed, and instances where a deletekey is pressed.
 5. The system of displaying a user interface of claim 1,wherein the server adapts the user interface of the webpage by applyinga style sheet designed for a user having a low user effectiveness index,the style sheet performing at least one selected from the group ofincreasing at least one selected from the group of the cell padding,element spacing, and font size of the webpage, hiding at least oneelement of the webpage from the user's view, and bolding, italicizing,and/or underlining text.
 6. The system of displaying a user interface ofclaim 1, wherein the server adapts the user interface of the webpage bygenerating a second webpage, the second webpage having a second userinterface configured for a user having for a low user effectivenessindex, the second user interface presenting at least one less element ofthe webpage to the user and/or increasing at least one selected from thegroup of the cell padding, element spacing, and font size of thewebpage.
 7. The system of displaying a user interface of claim 1,wherein: the user database stores login credentials that, uponsubmission to the server, allow access to restricted information; andthe monitoring program tracks the operation of each of the one or moreinput devices and captures input operation data for each input deviceprior to the receipt of login credentials by the server.
 8. A method fordisplaying a user interface, comprising: tracking the operation of oneor more input devices to collect input operation data as the inputdevices interact with the user interface, the input operation data foreach input device having one or more selected from the group of at leastone input positive effect and at least one input negative effect;tracking the operation of the display to capture output operation dataof the display, wherein the output operation data includes at least oneselected from the group of display size, display resolution, and fontsize, and the output operation data having one or more selected from thegroup of at least one output positive effect and at least one outputnegative effect, wherein an output positive effect includes at least oneselected from the group of a small display size, a high displayresolution, and a small font size and an output negative effect includesat least one selected from the group of a large display size, a lowdisplay resolution, and a large font size; calculating a usereffectiveness index, the user effectiveness index calculated by thesummation of at least one selected from the group of the at least oneinput positive effect, the at least one input negative effect, the atleast one output positive effect, and the at least one output negativeeffect; transmitting the user effectiveness index to a server; andtaking an effectiveness action to adapt the user interface in responseto the user effectiveness index, wherein the effectiveness actionincludes at least one selected from the group of increasing the spacingaround one or more elements of the user interface, increasing the sizeof one or more fonts displayed on the user interface, removing one ormore elements of the user interface, and removing bolding, italicizing,and/or underlining from text.
 9. The method for displaying a userinterface of claim 8, wherein the one or more elements include at leastone selected from the group of a window, a button, an icon, a menu, atab, a scroll bar, a zoom tool, a dialog box, a check box, and a radiobutton.
 10. The method for displaying a user interface of claim 8,further comprising monitoring the input operation data for at least oneselected from the group of movement, movement speed, click accuracy,typing speed, typing accuracy, selection accuracy, navigation path,scrolling action, and zooming action.
 11. The method for displaying auser interface of claim 10, further comprising: categorizing at leastone selected from the group of direct movement, rapid movement, asuccessful button click, a successful button click on a first attempt,rapid typing, a successful selection on a first attempt, a directnavigation path, a successful scroll action, a successful zoom action,absence of instances where a backspace key is pressed, absence ofinstances where a delete key is pressed, and absence of instances wherea back button is clicked in the input operation data as one or moreinput positive effects; categorizing at least one selected from thegroup of indirect movement, slow movement, an unsuccessful button click,an unsuccessful button click on a first attempt, slow typing, anunsuccessful selection on the a attempt, an indirect navigation path, anunsuccessful scroll action, an unsuccessful zoom action, instances wherea backspace key is pressed, and instances where a delete key is pressedin the input operation data as one or more input negative positiveeffects; and assigning a numerical value to each of the one or moreinput positive effects and each of the one or more input negativeeffects.
 12. The method for displaying a user interface of claim 11,wherein the numerical value is determined based on the magnitude of eachof the one or more input positive effects and each of the one or moreinput negative effects and the frequency of occurrence of each of theone or more input positive effects and each of the one or more inputnegative effects.
 13. The method for displaying a user interface ofclaim 12, wherein the value of each of the one or more input positiveeffects is positive, and the value of each of the one or more inputnegative effects is negative, and the user effectiveness index iscalculated by the summation of all values for the one or more positiveeffects and all values for the one or more negative effects.
 14. Themethod for displaying a user interface of claim 13, wherein: the usereffectiveness index is stored in a user database by the server; and theuser database further includes login credentials, and tracking theoperation of one or more input devices begins upon receipt by the serverof login credentials.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumstoring an application for displaying a user interface, the applicationconfigured to: display the user interface; monitor the operation of oneor more input devices and capture input operation data relating to theuse of each input device, the input operation data having one or moreselected from the group of at least one input positive effect and atleast one input negative effect; monitor the operation of a display andcapture output operation data for the display, the output operation datahaving one or more selected from the group of at least one outputpositive effect and at least one output negative effect, wherein theoutput operation data includes at least one selected from the group ofdisplay size, display resolution, and font size, and the outputoperation data having one or more selected from the group of at leastone output positive effect and at least one output negative effect,wherein an output positive effect includes at least one selected fromthe group of a small display size, a high display resolution, and asmall font size and an output negative effect includes at least oneselected from the group of a large display size, a low displayresolution, and a large font size; analyze the input operation data toidentify one or more input positive effects, one or more input negativeeffects, one or more output positive effects, and one or more outputnegative effects, and assign a numerical value to each identified inputpositive effect, input negative effect, output positive effect, andoutput negative effect; calculate a user effectiveness index by thesummation of the numerical values for each of the one or more inputpositive effects, the one or more input negative effects, one or moreoutput positive effects, and one or more output negative effects; andadapting an element of the user interface based on the usereffectiveness index, wherein: the element includes at least one selectedfrom the group of a window, a button, an icon, a menu, a tab, a scrollbar, a zoom tool, a dialog box, a check box, and a radio button, and theadapting includes at least one selected from the group of adding orremoving an element from the user interface, increasing or decreasingthe size of an element, increasing or decreasing the size of a fontdisplayed in the element, increasing or decreasing a time period for thecompletion of an action involving the element, and bolding, italicizing,and/or underlining text.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumstoring an application for displaying a user interface of claim 15,wherein the application: continuously monitors the one or more inputdevices and captures input operation data; continuously analyzes theinput operation data to identify positive input effects and negativeinput effects and to assign numerical values; continuously calculates auser effectiveness index; and adapts an element of the user interfacebased on the user effectiveness index upon each refresh of the displayeduser interface.